You are doing fine Croton. You just need to find a little rythmn with your production order, and recognize hot spots for founding cities. Don't take some of the harsh criticism to heart. I'm sure that you could, in fact, do the exact opposite of every suggestion made, and still achieve a victory. Play to your own style.
I would not recommend 1 worker for each 4 towns, rather at least one for each town.
I would go with 2 workers per town minimum. But I love workers.
Why did you not found on that river some place? Why so many units? No need for spears at Warlord.
Some explanation:
Tiles worked that are touching rivers produce +1 gold. Cities on rivers can grow to size 12 without an aquadeuct.
On any level I normally have 2 spear per city, and often have 3 after monarchy. This can prevent several potential headaches.
Lakes, like rivers, allow cities to grow to size 12 without an aquaduct if the city is next to the lake.
You are building libs and have only 1 beakers in some places? Running only 20% research and still -6gpt.
Don't worry yourself with specialists. Don't even use them for now.
Building libraries is a good idea, just don't have every city doing it at once. Build up your army too. Libraries will increase your income eventually.
Why build court houses at this point in the game, you need settlers and workers.
Courthouses are usually a very late-game build, and the easier the level, the later in the game. If you find yourself building a courthouse, try building a unit/worker/settler instead.
You should not need temples at warlord, at least not till you have gotten larger cities.
Couldn't disagree more. I build temples right away. Depending on the circumstances, at city creation I either build a worker, temple, or barracks. My cities all get 2 spear, barracks, and a temple, check check check, and put out 2 workers in that sequence somewhere too, provided that the city growth is not dismal.
No sense in making a harbor, if you are not going to be working any coastal tiles or make any ships.
Harbors are good for trade, not just production and ships. You might want to give every coastal city a harbor.
No need for walls at warlord, that is for AW or Sid games and maybe a few other situations.
Walls can be very useful. Build a city near the enemy, in the hills, give it barracks, a temple, walls, and a few spear. Its great for keeping your offensive units healthy, and controlling valuable terrain. If the city is on a river, forget the wall though.
But a wall is not for every city, just strategically or tactically placed ones.
Why did you build a granary in Minsk?
Why *not* build a granary in Minsk? Granaries double growth rate. I don't build them on Warlord because I build the pyramids, but its not a terrible idea.
Moscow is allowed to starve while you have two jokers?
This is going to happen nearly every game. Usually after you conquer a big city. Get some defenders in there, rush a temple. Having two entertainers and allowing a city to starve are two no-no's, but sometimes it can't be helped.
so VMXA - I should just abandon my game?
And did I mention I am new at this?
I wouldn't abandon the game. I'm sure you can pull out a win!
I remember a game I played some years ago, in which I was proud to have built my first horseman, only to have a tank go cruising by shortly thereafter.
In the early stages you want a lot of settlers to go claim the world so that you can start improving it all at once
This is the most important rule of Civ. Expand expand expand!!! Settler are your most important unit. I don't even send my settlers out with guards until one has been attacked. Every city that is size 3 or 4 is building a settler, and I build temples/barracks/workers/spear in between. I will have a city or two working on certain wonders, and a city or two starting work on my military. The rest are working on expansion/infrastructure.
Build along rivers and near cattle. Best spot is on a river, near cattle, with some hills in the fat X. If you are struggling, restart any game where your start is not on grassland with cattle and river close by. Don't be afraid to explore though, before founding your first city. The start site may be better than it looks. I will take up to 5 turns before founding.
The early turns are the most important turns, and expansion is of the utmost importance. It takes a good rythmn though, to know when to build what, and I think most experienced players have that rythmn so ingrained they forget what it is like to not have it. Its a game... have fun with it, and the rythmn will come naturally.
Just as a brief guide:
I am playing a game on Warlord. I chose the Mayans because their civ traits allow for super fast expansion (industrial !!!).
I have several cities built. My capital is size 6 and producing a settler every 4-6 turns. I have one city building workers every 3-4 turns, one building the pyramids, and another building archers in case of/in preparation for war.
A Mayan settler is crossing the grasslands in a very wide valley between two mountain ranges. I had previously founded a city near some gems that were 24 tiles from the city closest to the gems, and now I am building a 'chain' of cities to that far away city.
My settler is 4-7 tiles away from the nearest city. Personally, I prefer 7, but usually terrain dictates the distance. My settler decides to ... settle, and like a cat, looks around for the best spot.
River? Nope. Dang it.
Cattle? Yep.
The cattle is surrounded by all grassland. The settler heads for an adjancent tile without the shield bonus, and plops down. Paradize is founded!!
Now, what to build?
First choice: worker.
But... how long will it take to build the worker and how long 'til the city grows?
- If the city can build the worker without any turns wasted, build the worker first -
> I admit, on warlord I sometimes break this rule and will waste a turn or two of prodcution if I really want that worker!
If turns would be wasted, build either Barracks or Temple. Choose the Barracks unless you need to expand your border fast. Once the Barracks is built... what size is your city?
If size 1 or 2, now build the worker. If size 3 or 4, build a settler. Once that is done, build a spearman if you have a Barracks. Build a Barracks if you don't have one.
You just completed your settler. You have a Barracks and Spearman. A worker is building mines and roads around the city. What to build next? Another worker, if no turns will be wasted, or another Spearman if a worker would waste turns.
Worker done. City size? Size 1 or 2, build a second Spearman. 3+, build a settler. After this, size 1 or 2, build a Temple. 3+, another settler.
You get the idea. Once the city has 2 workers, 2 spearmen, Barracks, and Temple, after building a settler build what you think the kingdom needs, maybe an archer, or a spearman to fortify in a slow-producing city or on a resource.
All those bonus workers that the worker city is producing are for connecting cities with roads, working the wonder producing cities, irrigating over long distances and working cities that grow very slowly, and helping with mines on hills/mountains. Connecting cities with roads is a priority for these bonus workers!
Now, you just discovered Monarchy, have 20-30 cities, and two armies of around 12 archers and 3 spearmen each, and your workers have just about made roads connecting you to your closest neighbor. Go to war?
Go to war only if there is no more available quality land to expand on or they have iron and you don't. I've started wars simply to control a strip of hills and grassland that had room for two cities.
Hills = Military Factories. Another good reason to start a war is if you find yourself in competition with another country. Find a third party weaker than you that is on one of your borders, and conquer him. Soon you will be mightier than that competitor.
And, when expanding, assuming you start on grasslands, follow the natural drift of the land... try to build as many cities as you can among the grass and hills. Don't ignore the coast, because you might want a navy. Send out settlers to scoop up luxuries and strategic resources even if will take 20+ turns to walk there.
One thing the ai is fond of is building cities in locations that box you in. Out-box-in the enemy! If you encounter a country near your borders, start moving your settlers in that direction to take as much land as you can. Its a race!
Hope you find something useful in there.
